Yesterday, a month after the United States warned Israel it faced a cutoff of military assistance unless it allowed a substantial increase of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip within 30 days, the issue was essentially settled in Israel’s favor.
The United States, having announced that Israel had fulfilled some of the conditions it had laid down in October, said it would not scale back weapons deliveries to Israel, which is fighting a two-front war in Gaza and Lebanon.
Prior to the announcement, Israeli President Issac Herzog met President Joe Biden, a self-declared Zionist, in the White House to express gratitude for U.S. military, political and economic support of Israel.
Herzog said, “You’ve been an incredible friend of Israel and the Jewish people for decades. We will never forget, ever in history, how you stood up with us in our darkest hour, which became our finest hour — how you came to Israel a few days after the barbaric attack of October 7, how you helped us and supported us with words and deeds.”
A day before the latest U.S. announcement, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin reportedly chastized Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, who recently replaced Yoav Gallant.
In a sharply worded phone call, Austin told Katz that the provision of American weapons could be jeopardized unless Israel took tangible steps to improve the supply and distribution of aid to some two million Palestinians caught in the crossfire of the year-long war between Israel and Hamas.
The U.S. dispatched a somewhat similar letter to Israel last April, which resulted in improvements in aid deliveries to Gaza.
The United States sent its ultimatum to Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Gallant on October 13 in the form of a letter that was leaked to the news media. Signed by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Austin, it gave Israel 30 days to improve the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.
In its ultimatum to Israel, the U.S. issued several demands. It demanded that a minimum of 350 truckloads of goods be allowed into Gaza each day, and that Israel should postpone legislation intended to hinder the operations of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
UNRWA came under fire after a number of its employees were found to have participated in Hamas’ October 7 massacre, which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
When Washington issued this warning, the Biden administration sent a diametrically opposed message underscoring its alliance with Israel. It announced the dispatch of an advanced air defence system to Israel, along with 100 soldiers to assemble and man it, to help Israel defend itself from an impending Iranian retaliatory missile attack, which has yet to materialize.
As the 30-day deadline set in October was due to expire, Israel disclosed it had expanded its humanitarian zone in southern Gaza with the addition of field hospitals, medical supplies, water, food, and tents.
Israel blamed last month’s sharp drop in aid to Gaza to closures during the Jewish high holidays and memorials marking the first anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attack.
Israel also charged that humanitarian assistance had been hijacked by Hamas and organized crime families in Gaza.
Justifying the U.S. decision not to penalize Israel, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said that the Israeli government had taken concrete steps to facilitate the delivery of aid into Gaza.
Israel reopened the Erez and Kissufim crossings into northern and central Gaza. Israel waived certain customs requirements for aid organizations. Israel resumed aid delivery to northern Gaza after a nearly a month. Israel expanded the coastal Muwasi humanitarian zone.
“The ultimate hope is that through these steps, some conditions have been created in which we can see things like additional aid, additional food trucks, additional measures being taken that ultimately will be beneficial to the Palestinian people in Gaza,” said Patel.
He added that the U.S. will continue to monitor Israel’s compliance and will act accordingly if Israel returns to the status quo ante.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the Security Council yesterday that Israel has taken some “important steps” to address “the undisputed humanitarian crisis” in Gaza. “Still, Israel must ensure its actions are fully implemented — and its improvements sustained over time.”
By all accounts, aid levels remain far below the U.S. benchmarks. Access to northern Gaza is still restricted, and Israel has passed legislation to restrict UNRWA.
Refugees International, in a report, contends that Israel has fallen short of meeting the American demands:
“Israel’s actions failed to meet any of the specific criteria set out in the U.S. letter. Israel not only failed to meet the U.S. criteria that would indicate support to the humanitarian response, but concurrently took actions that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in northern Gaza.
“That situation is in an even more dire state today than a month ago. The entire Palestinian population in north Gaza is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence. The findings scorecard underscore Israel’s failure to comply with U.S. demands and international obligations. Israel should be held accountable for the end result of failing to ensure the adequate provision of food, medical, and other supplies to reach people in need.”
“Despite intensive diplomatic engagement by the United States and other countries, Israel has consistently failed to uphold its legal obligation to facilitate adequate humanitarian relief for civilians in Gaza during its ongoing military operation there. People are being starved in Gaza: Israeli military operations have denied them critical food aid and basic necessities, which has, in turn, caused conditions approaching famine for 800,000 Palestinian civilians across Gaza. Conditions are worst in Gaza’s north, where Israel launched a major operation in October that has cut off humanitarian aid to the area.”
Last month, Israel launched a major offensive in northern Gaza, where Hamas has regrouped. This operation, the fourth of its kind since last October, has displaced tens of thousands of civilians and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Hamas combatants.
To date, Israel has lost 375 soldiers in combat in Gaza.